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Draft:Fairy Idol Kanon
---- | demographic = Children | magazine = Monthly Comic BunBun | first = December 6, 2003 | last = November 6, 2006 | volumes = 4 }} is a children's manga series written and illustrated by Mera Hakamada, who is best known for creating The Last Uniform. Being Hakamada's debut work, the manga follows three elementary schoolgirls from Japan learning how to be idols while helping a fairy princess in saving her world. The series was serialized in the children's magazine ''Monthly Comic BunBun and published by Poplar Publishing into four volumes. The series was licensed for an English release in 2009 by Udon Entertainment as part of their then-new Udon Kids line of manga. Plot Kanon Kohinata is a 10 year old girl attending Hinoura Elementary School who loves to sing. One day, she and her two friends and classmates, Marika Amano and Kodama Yagi, find a fairy who has been severely hurt after school. The fairy begs for the girls to sing together, and after an agreement the girls decide to help her. Their voices help heal the fairy, who then reveals herself as Princess Alto of the Kingdom of Sound. Alto tells the girls that her kingdom, a fairy world that relies on singing voices from the Earth for energy, is in trouble as all the appreciation for music has been replaced with popularity and trends. Alto asks for them to sing all around the world to help her, which then gives the girls the idea to form an idol group. After a few obstacles, the girls manage to find an agent who scouts them for his company and form their idol group, which they named "The New Dancerz." The girls, with Alto's help, manage to gain popularity while they are frequently confronted by their rival, Julia Matsuoka. She and her fairy, Sharp, try to use black magic to stop the girls from being more popular than her and from helping the Kingdom of Sound. Characters ; :Kanon is the titular protagonist of the series and the leader of The New Dancerz. She loves singing and helping others, especially Alto and her friends. She has a special singing voice that seems to attract everyone and can provide a lot of positive energy. Her mother is responsible and realistic, who warns Kanon of what comes with living as a celebrity before eventually letting her follow her dreams. Her last name is never mentioned in the English version of the manga. ; :Marika is one of Kanon's friends from school. She is headstrong, but also very realistic and knows her way around the business industry. She is considered to be the best singer of the three girls and sometimes considers Kanon to be her rival. Her mother, Manami Amano, was once an idol, but now hosts her own cooking show, Go! Go! Cooking. ; :Kodama is another one of Kanon's friends from school. She is very considerate and quiet, except around celebrities she likes, and is also knowledgeable about many ongoing trends. Her voice is considered to be softest of the group. She has a brother, Yagihiko, who helps The New Dancerz make indie albums. ; :Alto is a fairy and the princess of the . Despite her status, she is actually not very good at singing. She is very helpful and enjoys learning new things about the human world as she helps the girls become idols. She can use her "takt", her magical wand with an orb with glittering stars inside, to cast spells for the girls. Her takt is later upgraded to a wand with a star and an orb marked with a musical note, enabling her to use a spell called , to protect the girls from dark magic. Her mother is the queen of her world, her grandmother Flat the priest of the temple by the forest, and her aunt Forte lives and watches over the forest. Her older sister Sharp and her aunt Forte, both who were close to her, seem to have changed sides. ; :Julia is a popular singer who also performs in American movies. She is one of the antagonists in the series, acting as the girls' rival who wants nothing more than to be more popular than them. She has Sharp working on her side, often ruining many of the girls' plans. Her mother, Hijiri Matsuoka, is a famous actress. ; :Sharp is a fairy, as well as Alto's older sister. She is one of the antagonists alongside Julia, and was found working with her after her long disappearance. She uses dark magic instead of the white magic fairies normally use, and performs her spells with a crescent-shaped wand. She also is a natural at dancing. ; :The owner of who scouts the girls. He is enthusiastic about his job and loves fashion. Media Manga Fairy Idol Kanon was serialized in Monthly Comic BunBun from the magazine's first issue on December 6, 2003 to the December 2006 issue on November 6, 2006. 27 chapters and an extra side story were collected into 4 tankōbon volumes during September 10, 2004 to April 10, 2006. }} }} Udon Entertainment licensed the series in 2009 for an English release in the United States. The series has also been published in Korean by Hak Sanmoonhwasa in 2010. Volume list Reception Fairy Idol Kanon received mixed to positive reception upon the release of the English version. A review from one of School Library Journal's blogs, "Good Comics for Kids", recommends the series for those new to manga, but criticizes the unrealistic nature of the main characters in the first volume of the series, saying that the "nod to realism is undercut by the fact we never see the girls rehearse, take a lesson, learn dance steps, or discuss musical interpretation", and notes that the girls "are bombarded with speeches extolling the importance of cooperation, perseverance, and humility when pursuing their dream of superstardom, making the omission of 'cultivating high standards' and 'practicing' especially curious". Brigid Alverson of Teenreads.com writes, "The sparkles and sweetness of Fairy Idol Kanon may make adults roll their eyes, but it’s written for young girls, and it’s best viewed through that lens". In the 2012 book, A Parent's Guide to the Best Kids' Comics: Choosing Titles Your Children Will Love, Fairy Idol Kanon is recommended alongside Happy Happy Clover, with the book stating: "Happy Happy Clover readers who want more sweet, cheery, all-girl manga fun should look for Hakamada's series about three friends who long to be musical stars— and the fairy princess who helps them achieve their dreams." The series was ranked at 8th on a Top 10 list for fairy-themed manga on anime site Honey's Anime. References External links * Category:Manga series Category:2003 manga Category:Japanese idols in anime and manga Category:Music in anime and manga Category:Fantasy anime and manga Category:Comedy anime and manga